Love the parrot. Of the two methods you have shown, I think I prefer coloring first and then sandwich/quilting. But, maybe when I try it I might use different approaches for differing affects. :-D

I made these Artist Trading Cards (ATC) using Inktense pencils for a swap in my Art + Quilt study group. We have a year's worth of studying Lyric Kinard's Art + Quilt book.

Artist Trading Cards are the size of a playing card 2.5" x 3.5". I used a Micron Pigma black pen last after coloring, applying gel, ironing, washing, drying, and ironing again. I am going to be trying the Pentel Gel Roller Pen for Fabric when I receive my order in the mail this week.

Most of these cards were done in the Zentangle style.

http://www.zentangle.com
http://www.tanglepatterns.com

This quilt was colored by a neighbor girl going into sixth grade. The leaves in the upper left corner were colored after quilting and activated with water.

Jane-
Your artist cards look like they could have been block printed! They are truly wonderful. I'm wondering if I could print over the colored pencil.
Also, the children's work (as I think I've said before) is so creative. You've done such a nice thing by offering this experience for them. What a confidence builder for a preteen or teen or whatever age!
Thanks again for sharing these with us.

Hi Jane, I have been admiring and studying the tree frog. Wow!

I wanted to ask if the following is how this was done.

1. colored the frog with the Inktense pencils and let dry
2. applied aloe vera gel and let dry
3. quilted
4. colored the leaves
5. brushed water on them and let dry

Then, did you cover that layer with aloe vera?

Your quilting really sets everthing off. I love it.

We searched for images of frogs on the web. This one was saved to the desktop and then cropped/resized for 8.5 x 10.75. It was printed in color (use grayscale to save ink) and traced lightly onto fabric with a regular pencil using a light box (can use a window). A white fabric eraser (Hancock's or Jo-Ann's) is used for mistakes. The frog is colored with the dry Inktense pencils which are permanent. Clear aloe vera gel which activates the color but prevents bleeding is applied with a fabric brush. It dries quickly. I heat set the ink using pressing cloths on front and back. I wash the fabric until the slippery gel is gone under a small amount of water in a cake pan. It dries and is pressed again. I quilt it. Color was needed in the quilted leaves, so the pencils were used to add more color. Then water was added to the leaves by using a slightly moist brush (tap once on scrap fabric to remove some water). A moist brush to the tip of a pencil can take some color to add to a few drops of water to get the desired shade. This can then be brushed onto the leaves.

I printed over the color with the black pen AFTER gel was added, dried, heat set, and washed off. I tried black before adding gel, but the gel slightly affected the black ink.

I've enjoyed working with the kids. I guess I miss my classroom days. The girl who made the frog said, "I didn't know it would turn out this good." She and her mom "had" to rush to Michael's last night to buy a plastic stand-up picture frame, so her frog could have a sleeve to fit over the frame.

Jane, there is one thing I don't understand with the Inktense pencils. All of the sites I have researched say you have to use a textile gel of some sort in order to make the color permenant. In your explaination of the tree frog I didn't see any mention about it.

So is the Inktense pencils permenant with only a heat set?

Thanks for the help.

I love this - gorgeous!

I don't want to answer for Jane, but if I remember correctly from all of her previous posts, she uses plain aloe vera gel in place of the textile gel.